[Deck] Armageddon Stax

[Machinus]

Yes, I know, another Stax thread. I have already made several on this site. However, I think the Angel Stax thread just isn't the right place for the discussion of this version of the deck. The decks are quite different.

Two cards have been printed in the last year that contribute significantly to this deck. The first, from Time Spiral, has a small effect, but it is one that Stax takes great advantage of.



The functionality here is pretty obvious.

An even better card was printed only a few months ago in Planar Chaos. I have been testing and rebuilding the deck with it since then and I think it is just the kind of improvement the deck needs:



This card seems to be designed for this deck. It has a very nice casting cost, is difficult to kill (even with incinerators), and it affects the board immediately. It is really excellent in supporting the Stax strategy.

This card effectively replaces Wrath of God as the primary mechanism for dealing with creatures. This also conveniently opens up more slots in the deck by allowing the expensive and sometimes vulnerable Angel to be replaced. In turn, this dramatically loosens the mana restrictions of cards in the deck by significantly lowering the curve and never requiring double white mana.

The obvious card to use in the open space is Armageddon. This card is cheap, powerful, and synergistic with the deck. After modifying the core of the deck and updating the manabase, the deck looks something like this:

4 Armageddon
4 Magus of the Tabernacle
4 Smokestack
4 Ghostly Prison
4 Trinisphere
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Engineered Explosives
4 Mox Diamond
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
3 Crystal Vein
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Flagstones of Trokair
6 Plains

The way the deck is constructed now allows for way more synergy and consistency than was possible before. The combos that the deck has relied on previously are still present, but are supplemented by as strong and even stronger ones.

Almost all the cards have strong synergies with each other, but I will list some of the important ones:

Armageddon + Magus of the Tabernacle
Armageddon + Ghostly Prison
Armageddon + Crucible
Armageddon + Trinisphere
Smokestack + Crucible
Smokestack + Trinisphere
Engineered Explosives + Chalice of the Void
Flagstones of Troikar + Armageddon
Mishra's Factory + Crucible

There are more, and depending on the matchup some weak ones can become very strong.

The deck has evolved and seen a lot of discussion since 2007. Skeggi helpfully provided a collection of links to specific card discussions that have popped up over that time period. You should check them out if you are interested (especially before bringing the same idea up again!). - Nihil Credo [25-2-2009]

Quick question: Isn't Flagstones what makes your Magus survive after you have resolved an Armageddon? Why is everyone "only" running 3?

(just follow the blue button).

About PainterStone:
clicky.

About Moat:
clicky. Ofcourse the discussion continues after this post.

About Peace Keeper:

1 Peacekeeper

(just follow the blue button).

About Scroll Rack: clicky.

Short view on Tabernacle land vs. Magus: clicky. Ofcourse the discussion continues after this post.

About Serum Powder:clicky. Ofcourse the discussion continues after this post.

About CotV in the sideboard and Winter Orb: clicky.

About splashes: clicky.

Posts by Fred Bear are lengthy and insightful: clicky. I've included these because they're kind of the basics of what you must know about Stax. FB shares his all his findings, whether succesful or not, and lays them before you in a clear manner.

About green splash: clicky. Ofcourse the discussion continues after this post.

About dropping Smokestack: clicky. Ofcourse the discussion continues after this post.

General post about stuff: clicky.

Concerning Windborn Muse-
This card has already been brought up several times but the shared opinion is he is too fragile without the CotV@1 to sustain his life. Ghostly Prisons enchantment awesomeness hurt aggro stategies since so few are capable of removing enchantments. Creatures however..

Concerning Geddon-
Its simply way better than Catastrophe and Cataclysm is antisynergistic with your decks mission. If you have Ravages of War Id do a 2/2 split to avoid the mage issues.

Concerning Null Rod-
I think the fact it messes with your mox, factories, and explosives is good enough reason not to mess with it. There are simply other options that remain one sided. I feel the same about Suppression Field. The card could stunt the opponents development but not quite enough and the longer the games draw out the weaker its effect would get. Paying 2 to fetch a land would be ok. Paying 2 to Vial out a Warcheif is still way too good. IMO Explosives helps fill the Suppression Field role but actually reduces the perms in play and allows you to drop the all mighty CotV@2.

Concerning Leonin Abunas/Karmic Justice-

I did try this guy at some point before I decided to foresake the "Cover your Ass" plan. Its simply not worth it to remain reactive. Even Karmic Justice is a card that DOES NOTHING. No really. Cards that only 'turn on' when your opponent does a certain something are usually bad. The only instance I can think to argue that is Standstill because it 'turns on' when the opponent plays any spell, not one that will blow up Crucible.

In short, being proactive lockdeck > being a reactive control deck.